NBA fines Thibodeau $35,000 for comments

May 12, 2013|By K.C. Johnson, Tribune reporter

The NBA fined Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau $35,000 for “comments he made about the officiating,” according to a news release from Stu Jackson, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations.

The league announced the fine just after Thibodeau met with reporters and had retreated to his office. According to a team spokesman, Thibodeau had no comment and was “focused on Game 4.”

Thibodeau consistently has said the Bulls “aren’t going to get calls” in this series and cryptically added two comments after Friday’s Game 3.

“I’m watching how things are going,” he said. “I watch very closely. What I’m seeing is ... we’ll adjust accordingly.”

Thibodeau’s other line crosser — ”We’re well aware of what’s going on” — actually came in response to a question on how Joakim Noah handled Chris Andersen’s hard foul on Nate Robinson. So that comment could have been directed at the Heat’s physical play and not officiating.

It didn’t matter.

Nazr Mohammed, who was ejected from Game 3 for shoving LeBron James, will face no additional discipline.

“We just have to do a better job of controlling our emotions,” Noah said. “It’s just important not to give them easy points. They’re such a good team already, so we get frustrated, we get technical fouls, they get to the free-throw line. That’s just giving them extra points.”

Noah, of course, got ejected from Game 2, which is why he smiled and caught himself as he spoke.

“And also understanding that there are little people watching,” he said. “We have to, ah, I’m not the one to talk.”

King-sized challenge: Some might consider guarding James physically daunting. Jimmy Butler has a different description.

“It’s fun,” he said. “That’s what you wanted growing up. You want to guard the best, play against the best.”

Butler said the two early fouls he incurred early in Game 3, which forced Thibodeau to use Taj Gibson on James, won’t change his approach.

“I feel like you’ve just got to try to speed him up at times, get the ball out of his hands, make other guys make plays,” Butler said. “He’s such a great player that he does create for others and he can create for himself.”